Timothée Chalamet Now Owns a Stake in This Revered Indie Watch Brand

The most intriguing aspect of this new union will be Chalamet’s contributions to the brand—the early fruits of which we’ve apparently already seen, in the form of the custom colored straps the actor has worn on the red carpet. “When we first met, we were struck by Timothée’s curiosity and interest in independent watchmaking,” said Alex Rosenfield, UJ’s CEO.

According to Chalamet, he’s been looking to contribute creatively to a watch brand for quite some time. “A couple of years ago,” he said, “a film director I admire deeply piqued my interest in artisanal watchmaking—not the flashy kind, but the kind that demands years of discipline, patience, and ultimately, mastery. I started to see it as a sibling to filmmaking—a precise expression, just on a different scale. One lives on an IMAX screen, the other within 48 by 40 by 10 millimeters, but both have the ability to hold entire worlds within them.”

An equity stake and the chance to have input on a brand’s releases is a fascinating next step in Chalamet’s horological journey. Every watch spotted on his wrist over the last couple of months has been more unlikely and inspired than the last. Just this past Monday night, the actor wore a vintage Franck Muller piece from the brand’s ’90s heyday. The UJ partnership won’t prohibit him from wearing other brands, I’m told, which is great news for the rest of the indie watchmaking scene.

Typically, the biggest stars in the world sign watch deals with equally sizable brands. Chalamet was once with Cartier; Leonardo DiCaprio finally found the one to settle down with in Rolex; and Ryan Gosling has made TAG Heuer tickers his signature both on the big screen and off of it. But Chalamet’s unprecedented commitment to an independent brand like UJ, and his deep enthusiasm for the watch world at large, feel indicative of just how far this once-niche hobby has come. The more that a star of Chalamet’s ilk sports under-the-radar indie pieces on his wrist, the more that burgeoning collectors around the globe will get exposed to some of the greatest watchmakers on the planet.